On Tuesday, October 31st, Tampa Prep’s middle school students went on their second Terrapin Day for service of the five that are scheduled this year. Each grade visited different locations, where they spent their day completing indoor and outdoor service-based activities.

Sixth graders went to Rosa Valdez, an early learning center, where they played with children and decorated pumpkins. 

“My favorite part was all the little kids coming around getting candy,” Kaiea Tozer (6) said.

Seventh graders were split into groups, where they visited Feeding Tampa Bay, The Ronald McDonald House, and Metropolitan Ministries. 

“I enjoyed meeting new people and creating new bonds,” Jackson Dunham (7) said.

Eighth graders went to Bayshore Brookdale Retirement Home. Students spent time with the senior residents, painted their nails and listened to personal stories.

“It was a lot of fun to get to know [the residents] and learn from their past experiences,”  Leilani Lamar (8) said. 

By learning from the past of others, 8th graders were are able to apply these lessons to their lives.

Terrapin Day is another way Tampa Prep outreaches to our surrounding communities. It helps build relationships outside of school and improves our selflessness. 

“[We want to] instill a higher purpose than self in middle school students by putting them at the heart of service,” Assistant to the Head of the Middle School Kim Souza Said. 

Middle school students will continue their service projects throughout the year on the three remaining Terrapin Days planned.